What Are Current Examples of Oligopolies?

An oligopoly occurs when a select few companies have the majority of market share. Companies within oligopolies are competitors, but they tend to cooperate with each other in order to benefit as a whole, often leading to higher prices for consumers.

Ford, GMC and Chrysler form an oligopoly in the auto industry. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have one in cell phone services, while Universal, Sony, BMG, Warner and EMI control the music entertainment industry.